Recent

I've been running Crank Brothers pedals since the Egg Beater was the only one they made. I'm not sure what guys do to them, but despite zero maintenance and multiple pedal strikes during each ride (I like bikes with low bottom brackets), I've never had a failure.
These days I prefer a pedal with a larger platform so I use the Mallet and Mallet DH pedals on my trail and enduro bikes, but I do like the Candy for road use.

Maybe it was just my desire to watch more racing on dirt, but I really enjoyed watching the XC races in 2018. Much like how watching the DH races back in 2013 rekindled my enthusiasm for riding and racing DH again, 2018 gave me some desire to race XC again.

It comes down to a venue putting together a bid for a race. From talking to some of the folks that organized the Windham events, it's a ton of work for pretty much no money.
To give you an idea of some of the multi-tasking involved, one of the "flower girls" after the DH was one of the main event organizers.
This is a round-about way of saying: If you want a WC race, you can make it happen.

Oh yeah... Just reserved a condo.
Let's hope for a competitive season so the title comes down to the last race.
Having the final round after World Champs could definitely add some excitement.
Can't wait!

I don't think he was referring to Gwin, but possibly a couple of other British racers who seem to take things seriously. That said, all of the riders I've encountered at races (Windham twice) were pleasant to talk to and tolerant of a fan usually 10 years or more older than they are.
Gwin is just as laid back, but in a different way.